Early intervention improves academic performance in children exposed to lead: JAMA
USA: Evidence from a recent study in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that receipt of early intervention (EI) services before the age of 3 years may be beneficial for the academic performance of children exposed to lead early in life. These benefits are on par with other educational interventions such as reducing class size for causing a considerable improvement.
Previous studies have shown that EI programs can improve the academic outcomes of children with developmental delays. Similar programs have been suggested to combat the lead's deleterious effects on the neurodevelopment of children. However, there have been no published studies that examined this possibility.
To fill the knowledge gap, Jeanette A. Stingone, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, and colleagues aimed to estimate the association between receipt of early intervention services and third-grade standardized test scores among children exposed to lead before age 3 years in a cohort study.
The study included children born in New York City, New York, from 1994 to 1998 within an administrative data linkage of birth, early intervention, lead monitoring, and education data systems. The blood lead level of the participants was 4 μg/dL or greater at any point before age 3 years and later attended public school in New York City.
The exposure was any use of early intervention services from birth through age 3 years. The researchers matched children who did or did not receive early intervention services using propensity scores. The association between receipt of early intervention services before age 3 years and standardized test scores in math and English-language arts in third grade were estimated using linear and log-binomial regression.
Following were the key findings of the study:
- There were 2986 children exposed to lead who received early intervention services before age 36 months. Of these children, 2757 were propensity score–matched to 8160 children who did not receive services.
- Children who received early intervention services did 7% of an SD better on math and 10% of an SD better on English-language arts tests than children who did not receive services. In addition, children who received services were 14% and 16% more likely to meet test-based standards in math and English-language arts, respectively, than children who did not receive services.
- These associations became larger in magnitude when analyses were restricted to children with higher blood lead levels.
"By leveraging existing public health data, this study found evidence that receipt of EI services may benefit the academic performance of children exposed to lead early in life," wrote the authors. "There is a need for further research to replicate these findings in other municipalities and investigate if enrichment services such as access to early education and enriched childcare may also benefit lead-exposed children."
Reference:
The study titled, "Receipt of Early Intervention Services Before Age 3 Years and Performance on Third-Grade Standardized Tests Among Children Exposed to Lead," was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0008
